Gary Barlow and Louis Walsh reunite at X Factor peace-making dinner

Gary Barlow and Louis Walsh stared at each other like angry cats during an X Factor peace-making dinner.

Gary Barlow gave X Factor judges and staff an ultimatum as they met for dinner in London (Picture: Xposurephotos.com)

The feuding pair had been coaxed out to play nicely with fellow judges Nicole Scherzinger and Tulisa Contostavlos following Gary’s ‘rage’ at the axing of Carolynne Poole.

However, the atmosphere was as cold as the sorbet during a dinner at The Arts Club in Mayfair when Barlow seemingly refused to forgive the 60-year-old Irishman’s deadlock decision, which left ‘joke’ act Rylan Clark on the show.

A source told me: ‘Everyone was hoping for peace at the dinner.‘The idea was to get Gary and Louis to start talking again but you could have cut the atmosphere with a knife.

Louis Walsh seemed to be in good spirits in spite of the recent controversy, while Nicole Scherzinger upped the glamour factor (Picture: Xposurephotos.com)

‘Gary and Louis didn’t say a word to each other all night and made sure they sat at the opposite ends of the dinner table. It was really uncomfortable.’

Hours earlier, it was claimed that Barlow warned he would quit the show if joke acts continue to survive.

The 41-year-old star had already tweeted he was struggling to get ‘motivated’ following the fallout. His alleged ultimatum came after we revealed the Take That star’s tantrum after he stormed off the live show in a sweary rampage.

Also on a damage control outing was the show’s producer, Richard Holloway, who has been forced to deny he rigged the result after he was busted whispering in Walsh’s ear before the vote.

Holloway insisted: ‘We never tell the judges what to do.’ As for Poole, she has said she was ‘frustrated’ at the distraction of Holloway’s crawling during her performance but now appeared to back the show boss.

She said: ‘Do I think it was a fix? The public voted me out. The public vote on what they see. Ultimately, for whatever reason, the public didn’t vote for me, Rylan got more votes. It wasn’t a fix.’

Tulisa went for an understated look for the meal, wearing a simple black lace dress and minimal make-up, while Nicole donned a black top and patterned skirt which she teamed with a bold red bag.

This weekend’s show will see the twelve remaining acts tackle songs with the theme of love and heartbreak.